Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovenia, together with seven other EU member states, have jointly reaffirmed their desire to strengthen European cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, the French energy ministry said, according to See News.
Energy ministers and high-level representatives of Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Hungary, Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia met with the EU Commission and the Swedish Presidency to foster closer cooperation between their national nuclear sectors, France’s energy ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
France, a country operating 56 nuclear reactors totalling 61.3 GW of combined capacity, is lobbying for the inclusion of nuclear energy in the efforts for achieving the EU’s climate goals.
Romania and Bulgaria operate two nuclear reactors each, while Croatia and Slovenia jointly operate a Westinghouse pressurised light water reactor at the Krsko nuclear power plant.
The countries intend to ensure the best cooperation across supply chains and explore joint training programmes and industrial projects to support new projects, notably based on innovative technologies, as well as the operation of existing power plants, according to the statement.
In accordance with the objectives of the Euratom treaty, the promotion of research and the dissemination of technical information, the setting of uniform safety standards in line with international best practice and the strengthening of industrial cooperation in the development of European nuclear capabilities are important objectives of the common energy policy, the ministry noted.
Earlier this month, the European Parliament’s energy committee officially recognised nuclear-generated hydrogen as a low-carbon energy source.